BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — McLaren's Lando Norris said some drivers “shouldn't be in Formula 1” after Franco Colapinto set off a multi-car collision that ended the defending champion's race in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday.
Colapinto braked too late at the first corner as the race restarted after a safety car period, slamming into his own Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly, whose car then pushed Norris' into the barriers.
As drivers reacted to avoid the crash, Arvid Lindblad pushed his teammate at Racing Bulls, Liam Lawson, into a spin, too.
“I just got taken out,” Norris told broadcaster Sky Sports. “There's just some drivers that shouldn't be in Formula 1, to be honest.”
Colapinto called it a “big mistake” and said a “big sorry to both of them," referring to Gasly and Norris.
Norris is now left 116 points off standings leader Kimi Antonelli, one more heavy blow to a title defense that was already floundering following the Italian's wins in Italy and Spain in recent weeks.
Colapinto was given a 10-second time penalty for causing the collision. He didn't finish the race so that could be converted into a grid penalty for next week's race in Malaysia, branded as the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Race winner George Russell and second-place Max Verstappen disagreed that Colapinto deserved a suspension for his mistake.
“I think safety-car restarts, cold tires, a very small mistake can have big consequences. From what I saw today, that’s what it looked like,” Russell said. “I think, personally, race bans should come from drivers intentionally doing something very dangerous and very reckless. I think it was unfortunate.”
Alpine team boss Flavio Briatore apologized to Norris and McLaren and said he was “extremely disappointed” with a disastrous race for his team.
“It was a very poor move for a driver of his experience,” Briatore said. "I want to take time to reflect on it and consider what course of action should be taken, so we can learn from it and avoid such a situation in future.”
It's the latest controversy involving Colapinto after repeated cases of social media abuse targeted against other drivers and race stewards by fans supporting the Argentine driver.
___
